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Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Blue Jays got a win last night against the Pirates and thanks in big part to Brandon Morrow who pitched his 4th straight quality start. Striking out 10 batters he looked like he did at the end of last year which is very good news for the Jays. He pitched 7 strong at 117 pitches which is pretty high but other than a little fall off in the 4th and 5th innings he looked superb. Bauitista went 1 for 2 with 2 walks, Encarnacion didn't get a hit yesterday but has been really good lately and will hopefully continue that tonight for the rubber match at the Rogers Center at 5PM. Brett Cecil gets back into the lineup tonight for the Jays as he gets the start against Jeff Karstens.

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Canada's woman's soccer team got lit up by the French today at the World Cup today in Germany. 4-0 was the final and from the 30 minutes of the game i watched France was by far the better team. Chances of them getting out of the group stage look pretty slim now for the 6th ranked team in the world. High hopes have been dashed by the team and its fans, but at least they are in the world cup unlike the men of this country.

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Wimbledon men's semi finals go tomorrow with some exciting tennis on the way. Nadal will look to get to the final through the fourth seeded Andy Murray who has looked very good so far in this tournament. Nadal has been battling an injury so i will be interested to see who will win this match. On the other side Novak Djokovic will be taking on the 12th seeded Tsonga who defeated Federer in the quarterfinals. Novak is a great player and we will see if he can handle the power of Tsonga tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Riders kicked off preparations for game 1 today in some serious heat. Needless to say i got a little sun burnt and am falling asleep as I write this, not that you care... Looks like starting receivers will be Getzlaf, Dressler, Nunn, Koch, and Hill. Those were the guys taking first team snaps with Durant. John Eubanks was also playing with the first team defense so we will probably see him start on Sunday. I was encouraged by the kicking of both Johnson and Milo today, Johnson was booming the punts as well as kicking field goals and not missing any of them. Milo also looked good and I didn't see him miss a single kick either but we will see what happens in the game. Coach Marshall said he is unsure of what the plan will be when it comes to who's kicking what come Sunday. Coach was also happy that Dressler got his deal signed and will be around for at least three more years, saying he is an integral part of their team and their offense. Thought Darian looked really good today while Dinwiddie and Bergquist struggled a bit throwing a couple INT's each. Again special teams was a big part of today with an emphasis on coverage on punt and kickoff returns. Game time 5PM on 620 CKRM, halftime show with yours truly and a guest yet to be named....because I don't know yet.

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The Blue Jays were so close to getting the win in the 7th inning last night when Adam Lind smoked a liner right to the first baseman for a double play and with the bases loaded. Encarnacion played a very good game hitting 2 more homers along with Patterson and Bautista who hit his league leading 24th on the year. Jo Jo Reyes had his moments but wasn't that sharp but the bullpen did a good job in his absence. Game 2 of the 3 game set tonight at Rogers Center, Brandon Morrow gets the start for the Jays.

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Well my hope for a top four semi finals at Wimbeldon has crashed as Roger Federer gave up a 2 set lead for the first time in a long time and lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. However Djokovich, Murray and Nadal did qualify for the semi's.

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The New York Rangers have bought out Captain Chris Drury's contract and in my mind that's all in an effort to offer enough money to entice Brad Richards come Friday. Richards agent says they will look to whatever team gives Brad the best chance at another cup. I'm not sure if New York is that place but who knows.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Riders have the day off today before practises resume tomorrow in preparation for the season opener at home Sunday against Edmonton. The Riders have slimmed their roster by 25 over the weekend. Reports are coming in that the Riders and Dressler are close to a 3 year deal worth about 120,000 dollars a year with a 30,000 dollar signing bonus. Definitely a good signing for the green and white locking up arguably their best receiver. Marc Peranteau is the new starting center which is good news for him and for the team. Still a little concerned about the kicking game but will wait to see what happens on Sunday before things start hitting the fan. I am also interested to see what kind of pass rush we can muster against the Eskimos and Ricky Ray. We shall see. Game time Sunday 5PM on 620 CKRM.

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The Toronto Blue Jays fell to the Detroit Tigers yesterday 4-2 but it was a game they very well could have won. There was a couple instances with two on and one or none out when the Jays couldn't cash in runs when the game was tied at 2. Zach Stewart pitched his third good game last night and got another no decision, still looking for his first win in the majors at 0 and 1 so far. He did give up 9 hits but he was able to pitch out of trouble with the help of some good defense behind him. Aaron Hill was especially good playing at second base with a nice snag on a liner up the middle and another tough play at Mike Vernonfirst base that was initially called safe but was overturned. Quite a weird play because it looked like the first base umpire forgot where he was and sort of stood there for a second before making the wrong call. The home plate umpire then came out and set it straight but Tigers Manager Jim Leyland was less than impressed to say the least and got himself ejected for his efforts. Camp and Rzepczynski came in and gave up a run each in the 8th and that was all she wrote for the make up game with the Tigers. The Jays head home now for a three game interleague set with the Pirates starting tonight at 5 o'clock. Jo Jo Reyes (3-6) gets the start up against Kevin Correia (9-6).

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The Hockey Hall of Fame will be announcing its next class of inductees today. I am especially interested being a huge Leaf fan with the likes of Ed Balfour and Doug Gilmour in the running. Its tough to `call though with a huge number of great players eligible including Joe Nieuwendyk, Pavel Bure, Ron Hextall, and Mike Vernon. Here's hoping they induct Pat Burns as a builder this year. The Inductions are done in November.

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Saskatchewan boy Brooks Laich has been locked up with the Capitals for 6 years for a total of 27 million. I had the chance to talk to him at the Sticks on Rose tournament here in Regina and i tried to convince him to sign with Toronto but he was not having it.... I wonder why... Congrats to Brooks.

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Rafa Nadal will be playing in the quarterfinals even though hes got a hurt foot. He suffered the injury in a win over Del Potro yesterday. Another final between he and Federer would be amazing to watch after Nadal had Rogers number on the clay at the French Open just last month. Federer faces the 12th seeded Tsonga in his quarterfinal while Nadal gets the 10th seeded Fish. Of course we cant forget about Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray whop are both alive in the tournament. We could see Nadal-Murray and Federer-Djokovic in the semi finals. The top four in the final four would make for some great tennis.

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Toronto Blue Jays will take a three-game winning streak into tonight's game in Detroit. Rookie Zach Stewart will get the start for the Jays, who are back at the .500 mark. Max Scherzer will be looking for his 10th win of the season for the Tigers. This is the make up game from the rained out match up last month so they will only play one game.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers say it's business as usual today. The team has filed for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court. The Dodgers are blaming Major League Baseball for refusing to approve a TV deal that owner Frank McCourt was counting on to keep the troubled team afloat. The Chapter 11 financing would permit the Dodgers to use 150 million dollars for daily operations.

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Two key members of the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be on track as they recover from serious injuries. Pens coach Dan Bylsma says forward Evgeni Malkin will likely be ready for the start of next season after undergoing knee surgery. He adds that captain Sidney Crosby has been cleared by doctors for regular twice-per-day, off-ice workouts. Crosby missed half of last season due to a concussion.

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Canadian captain Christine Sinclair is hoping her coaches won't make her wear a face mask to protect her broken nose. Sinclair had her nose re-set in a Berlin hospital after taking an elbow to the face in yesterday's 2-1 loss to Germany. She was fitted for a plastic mask after the procedure. Mexico and England played to a 1-1 tie today while Japan edged New Zealand 2-1.

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Six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer is moving on to the quarter-finals at the All England Club. He dropped his first set of the tournament before coming back to beat Mikhail Youzhny in four sets. There were several upsets in women's play. Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and the Williams sisters all lost in the fourth round.

The Riders made final cuts yesterday afternoon and I can only imagine what GM Brenden Taman means when he says it is not a fun day. 25 players were sent packing some of whom have no team to fall back on. At least some of the Canadian guys can go back to Junior or College teams but others will spend the season just watching. Quarterback Chris Leak was the odd man out yesterday as Dinwiddie and Berquist secured their spots on the team. Not a surprise there as Leak was at a huge disadvantage having to learn the entire system in a month as opposed to the other guys who have been here a while. Linebackers Chris Graham and Byron Bullock are out of the picture for now. Taman said that Graham is a piece for the future but as we all know the linebacking core in Saskatchewan is second to none in the league. Defensive Lineman Rod Wright was let go yesterday in favour of Tearrius George. Terrence Nunn and Enrie Wheelwright will be sticking around in the recieving core for the Riders which will only help Darian moving forward, providing they catch the ball better than in BC last Wednesday. Big questions still remain on the kicking situation. Luca Congi was placed on the 9 game injured list along with Brent Hawkins, Leron Mitchell, Robb Bagg, and Aaron Fairooz. I hope that a new guy is brought in until Luca gets back because if last week was any indication of whats to come than we could be in trouble. In saying that however it was just one game and I guess both Eddie and Milo deserve a second chance. Brandon West remains on the roster but on the injured list. He has an apparent foot injury, my guess a ploy to keep him around until they figure out what to do. He did injure his heel in training camp though and was playing through it so the injury is legit....I think. Also added to the injured list was WR Obed Cetoute and OL Nick Hutchins. Practise starts tomorrow with the home opener against Edmonton on Sunday at 5PM.

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The Blue Jays Won their second straight game over the struggling St. Louis Cardinals. Carlos Villinueva got his 5th win on the season and has been a very welcome surprise for the Jays starting rotation. He is 5 and 1 in 7 starts so far on the year and pitched into the seventh lat night. The Jays opened the game up in the third inning scoring 5 runs on one hit, a Juan Rivera three run homer. A guy who has really played better these last couple of games is Edwin Encarnacion. He struggled mightily all season long playing defense and offense but since hes been in a third base the last couple of games has looked pretty good. It helps that he is swinging the bat better as well with 2 hits and an RBI in yesterdays game. With another win today the Jays can get back to .500 baseball, they are currently 7 games back of the Red Sox for first in the Al East.

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The Regina Red Sox capped one of the most improbable comebacks in league history on Saturday night in Moose Jaw. After winning the opener of a doubleheader with the Miller Express 11-3, the Red Sox fell behind 8-0 in the second inning of Game Two. Not giving up though, the Sox would rattle off 7 runs in the final inning to pick up the win. Jason Veyna had the go-ahead Grand Slam to put the Red Sox ahead for the first, and last time in the game

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Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster says asking a player to waive a no-trade clause is the toughest thing you do. Feaster got defenceman Robyn Regehr to waive his, and then traded him, along with winger Ales Kotalik and a second-round pick to Buffalo. The Flames get defenceman Chris Butler and centre Paul Byron. By trading Regehr, Calgary created enough cap space to re-sign forward Alex Tanguay to a five-year contract extension.

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Ryan Smyth's return to the Edmonton Oilers is on hold. The deal hit a snag during the weekend, with the LA Kings indicating the Oilers didn't offer the right package to seal the deal. The Banff, Alberta native told the Kings a week ago he'd like to be traded back to Edmonton, where he spent his first 12 NHL seasons. One trade that did go through saw Ottawa acquire forward Nikita Filatov from Columbus for a third-round draft pick in 2012.

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Bernard Tomic played the role of giant-killer at Wimbledon, with the 18-year-old qualifier from Australia knocking out fifth-seed Robin Soderling 6-1, 6-4, 7-5. Tomic is the youngest player left standing as Wimbledon goes into its middle Sunday break. Fourth round action gets under way tomorrow.

The Riders will be making there final cuts this afternoon at about 2 o'clock and General Manager Brenden Taman will speak about them sometime after that. Practices will resume tomorrow at Mosaic in preparation for the home opener on Sunday against the Eskimos.

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The NHL Draft has come to a close and The Oilers first overall pick went to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Ontario native that plays with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL adds an element that the Oilers need and that's a good center man with good vision. RNH finished this past season with 106 points and 75 of those were assists. With all the star wingers the Oilers already have in Hall, Eberle, and Paajarvi, I think he is a great addition to the team. They also added a Swedish defensemen in Oscar Klefbom who a lot of people are saying was a huge steal at 19th overall. The Winnipeg Jets are back, it was announced with their first pick last night Mark Scheifele 7th overall. he was a surprise for a lot of people but is a good centerman out of Barrie Ontario. The Leafs traded their 30th and 39th overall picks to Detroit for the 22nd pick and took the American Tyler Biggs. Yes Burke drafted another US born player but he was considered by many the best power forward available in the draft, which is the kind of player the Leafs were looking for. With their 25th pick which they got in the Versteeg trade the picked the Canadian Defensemen Stuart Percy who played with the Mississauga St Micheals Majors this past year. He led all defenseman in assists in the Memorial Cup tournament and was named to the all-star team. The Leafs also got some immediate help with the acquisition on John Michael-Liles from the Colorado Avalanche for the 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft. the pick they got from Boston for making the Stanley Cup Final this year. Other big trades saw Brent Burns and a second round pick of the Wild sent to San Jose for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle who according to Pierre McGuire is a rockstar, as well as San Jose's first rounder who ended up being Zach Phillips from the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Wild got a lot for Burns basically 3 first round draft picks. The Oilers are apparently on the verge of signing former Oiler Ryan Smyth. Smyth has reportedly agreed to a trade for Gilbert Brule but nothing is official yet. The NHL off season is never actually an off season.

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The Regina Red Sox gave up 4, 9th inning runs to the Yorkton Cardinals to fall 6-5 last night. All four runs came with two outs and were unearned thanks to a pair of Red Sox errors.

=======================================================Major league home run leader Jose Bautista went deep for the second game in a row. Bautista belted his 23rd of the season in the top of the ninth to help the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-4 win over St. Louis. The Minnesota Twins will be without first baseman Justin Morneau for six weeks. The New Westminster, BC native will have neck surgery Wednesday to remove a herniated disk fragment.

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Top-seed Caroline Wozniacki plays her third-round match today at Wimbledon. Men's Number One Rafael Nadal will finish his match with Gilles Muller. Nadal was leading 7-6 when play was called. Roger Federer, Robin Soderling and Maria Sharapova are also on the schedule.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Well the Flyers have sure changed things here today. Big trades with both Jeff Carter and Mike Richards being shipped out in order to address a big problem at goaltender for Philly. Carter was sent to Columbus for their 8th overall pick tonight as well as Jakub Voracek. I think this is a good trade for both teams, the Flyer's get a good young guy in Voracek as well as a good prospect all the while freeing up cap space and Columbus gets a second scorer to go along with Rick Nash. Mike Richards was sent to LA for Wayne Simmonds a very underrated winger who is strong on the boards and has scoring abilities as well as Brayden Schenn who led the World Junior Championship this last year in points and has shown some real promise. The one thing i am a little wary about is the 9 years for Bryzgalov. The guy is already 31 and I'm not sure that's a smart move on the Flyers part but Ilya probably wasn't going to accept anything less than that. Anyhow they have addressed their goaltending problems and i think he will be a great mentor for Babrovski moving forward. Apparently the Leafs were in talks for both the Flyers players but Kadri and Kulemin don't match up with Schenn in my mind and that's why that didn't happen. Draft starts at 5 o'clock tonight with the Oilers making the first pick.

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The Raptors management continues to boggle my mind. I am not an expert on international players by any means but i would have really like to see a Brandon Knight or Kimbo Walker drafter 5th instead of the Lithuanian who's first name is Jonas and last name i cant spell or say. A buddy of mine made a good comment that the Raps could have used a flashyer player that the fans would have payed to see, not to mention the Raptors already have a center in Barngani. In my opinion Colangelo should have gone with Triano. I guess we will see how this all pans out but i think its safe to say most Toronto fans are disappointed. A congratulations to Tristan Thompson making history last night becoming the highest drafter Canadian in the NBA at 4th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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The Blue Jays inter league play continues today as they are in St. Louis to face the Cardinals. The Cards have lost 9 of 12 coming into the series and the Jays 4 straight. Jose Bautista will play third base and the latest recall of Eric Thames will play in right field. Brandon Morrow goes to the mound against Jake Westbrook who is 6 and 4 in 15 starts with an ERA at 5.16. The Jays bats are due to heat up so hopefully that happens today.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The score doesn't matter, the score doesn't matter, it was just pre season. Sure the Riders had a tough outing and there are concerns with who will kick field goals, who is going to pressure the quarterback and receivers dropping passes. I will say after Durant struggled in the first 2 series of the game i thought that he stepped up and played very well until he left the game in the third quarter. His receivers let him down a couple of times and it led to no points on the board. I'm also wondering what coaches will decide on who will kick field goals before Luca Congi gets back in the line up. Eddie Johnson did last night what he did late last year and that was sort of punch his kicks as if they were punts without any real spin and missed wide. Rookie draft pick Chris Milo came in a missed two that he should have made which leaves everyone wondering what is going to happen and when is Luca coming back. The sooner the better. I think that Terrence Nunn proved last night that he deserves to be on this team. I thought he made some really tough catches under pressure. He did drop that wide open pass that he probably could have turned into a TD but he came back and made plays every time he was called on making 7 catches for 54 yards. Chris Getzlaf had a tough outing with a couple drops and a fumble, hopefully he can get that figured out. The running back situation continues to be up in the air, Wes Cates looked good in his limited action in the first quarter, Brandon West showcased his amazing speed again last night and Hugh Charles didn't do much from the backfield but showed promise as a returner. Looks like Dinwiddie will be number 2 QB an Berquist number 3. Greg Newman had a great game defensively at halfback and safety. I thought he made some really good plays and some good hits all game long. Montez Murphy was the Riders biggest threat to get to the quarterback and showed some promise early in the game but it seemed that the Lion QB's had way to much time to throw all night. I will say that the Lions look good and Travis Lulay will be a force to be reckoned with this year. 34-6 Final.

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The NHL Awards took the back seat for me last night with the sports cage and the Rider game but here are the winners of this years trophy's:

The Blue Jays lost again. Jose Bautista showed up with his bat and made a great defensive play bit everyone else has forgotten how to hit. The Jays scored 3 runs in the three games versus the Braves and have lost 4 straight. The Jays inter league play continues tomorrow in St. Louis against the Cardinals. Brandon Morrow is on the mound coming off his best start of the season.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The CFL exhibition schedule continues tonight on two fronts. The defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes visit the Tiger Cats in Hamilton. Later on, BC hosts the Saskatchewan Roughriders, The Riders will be playing all their starters that aren't injured for at least a half tonight. Darian Durant will get as much playing time as he needs to get into rhythm so that hes ready for the home opener come July 3rd. Jordan Sisco, Effrim Hill, Jason Clermont and Chris Getzlaf get the start at receiver, Wes Cates in the back field. Kick off is at 8PM but you can listen into the 4 hours before the game starting with the sports cage at 4 o'clock on 620 CKRM, who knows I might jump into the cage with Scruffy at some point.

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The Blue Jays lost their third straight yesterday and the bats seem to have up and left the normally high powered offense. Scoring just 2 runs in two games versus the Braves so far in this series and that's just not good enough to win games. The Jays are two games under .500 and sit 8.5 games back of the division leading Boston Red Sox. Slowly but surely and hopes at a wild card spot are dissipating with both the Yankees and Rays playing good baseball. It looks like yet another .500 season for the Jays but I think they are capable of better, consistency has been an issue all year with starting pitching, the bulpen as well as the bats at times. Bautista has hit a bit of a rough spot along with 3 or 4 other guys in the lineup. The Jays are 6th in the league in runs scored that's dropped from the 4th spot they held just a couple weeks ago. As a team they bat with a .254 hitting percentage which is good for 14th in the league. When it comes to pitching however they drop off significantly, sitting 5th from the bottom in earned run average you can see why this team loses as many as they win. Only the Astros and Royals have more blown saves than the Jays who have given away 10 games in the final innings. Also 4th worst in runs allowed really speaks to the pitching troubles. Game three against the Braves goes today at 11 o'clock.

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It's awards night in Las Vegas for the NHL. Anaheim's Corey Perry, Vancouver's Daniel Sedin and Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis are up for the Hart Trophy as the league MVP.

Vancouver's Roberto Luongo, Nashville's Pekka Rinne and Tim Thomas of the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are nominated for the Vezina as the top goalie.

The Hart Trophy candidates for league MVP are Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks, Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks (would be first time two brotehrs won for consecutive years) and Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning.

And finally the King Clancy Trophy candidates for the humanitarian contribution to hockey are to be determined.

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The already rain-plagued Wimbledon tournament has started on Day 3 under the Centre Court roof. Canada's Milos Raonic is scheduled to play Gilles Muller in the second round. If Roanic wins, it will probably mean a date with Rafael Nadal in the third round.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A late entry today, been a crazy day in the newsroom with everyone dealing with flooding....again. The Blue Jays lost the opener in Atlanta last night. Ricky Romero pitched well, not his greatest outing, curve ball let him down a little but but he didn't give up any runs until the 6th inning. Hudson on the other hand pitched a great game for the Braves. Retiring 20 straight batters after giving up a single in the second. The Blue Jays couldn't give Romero any run support and a 2 run homer was the difference and who else to hit the winning home run than the pitcher Hudson. They Jays will look to snap this mini 2 game slide today. The rookie Zach Stewart gets his second start since being called up from AAA Las Vegas and would have won in his first start but the bullpen let him down and he got the no decision. He will face another rookie Mike Minor for the Braves.

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Dwane Casey is the new head coach of the Toronto Raptors. And the former Dallas assistant says he will bring a hockey style brand of hard nosed defence to the Raptors. The 54 year old is the club's eighth coach in its 16 year history. I think this is a good signing for the Raps. A guy who is used to winning as an assistant in Dallas for the past few seasons and I'm sure he has learned a lot from Carlisle along the way. Previously Casey worked more than a decade as an assistant in Seattle before getting the Minnesota head coaching job in 2005. He led the Timberwolves to a 33-49 record his first season and was fired with Minnesota 20-20 in the 2006-07 season. He will have a tough task ahead of him as Toronto was among the leagues worst teams defensively and hopefully his hockey like defense can show some results like it did in Dallas.

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It was an emotional comeback at Wimbledon for Serena Williams. The defending champion defeating her French opponent 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 after an absence of nearly a year due to foot surgery and blood clots in her lungs. Canadians Rebecca Marino and Stephanie Dubois also advanced to the second round after posting their first career wins today at the All England Club. But Aleksandra Wozniak and Frank Dancevic lost their first-round matches.

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It could be an important day on the labour front for both the NBA and NFL. NBA owners and players are meeting again in what commissioner David Stern has called ``a very important day in these negotiations.'' NFL owners have begun a critical meeting to discuss progress made in recent talks with the players.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Rory Mcilroy is US Open champion. The 22 year old from Northern Ireland has redeemed himself after a collapse at the Masters earlier this year. He put on a clinic all weekend long setting records for lowest scores thorughout the whole tournament and winning quite easily. It was good to see his dad walking alongside and getting to enjoy the moment on fathers day. This kid will be winning a lot more majors as time goes on. Jason Day finished a distant second, eight shots back.

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Canada's Milos Raonic made his Grand Slam grass-court singles debut with a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win over Frenchman Marc Gicquel at Wimbledon. The 31st-seeded Canadian fired 25 aces in a 96-minute effort. That sends him into the second round in his first appearance at the All England club. If both he and Nadal win their next matches they will meet in the third round of the tournament.

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A source says defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom will return to play for the Detroit Red Wings. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity with a conference call scheduled for later today. The 41-year-old Swede had been contemplating coming back for a 20th season or retiring.

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The Toronto Blue Jays continue their interleague schedule tonight in Atlanta against the Braves. Ricky Romero gets the call for the Blue Birds against the Braves' Tim Hudson. Toronto took two-of-three from Cincinnati over the weekend.
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Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Toronto Blue Jays bull pen has come through in two straight games and secured wins for their starters. Its great to see starting pitchers get rewarded for good outings. In the two games so far versus the Cincinnati Reds Jo Jo Reyes and Brandon Morrow have looked very impressive Reyes giving up just 2 runs while Morrow pitched a 6 and 2 thirds shutout yesterday with the help of Jason Frasor. The Jays are back to a game above .500 and sit 6 and a half games back of the Red Sox who are first in the American League East. Though it will take a serious run for the Jays to make a push for a playoff spot the positives out weigh the negatives this season. I really like how Jose Bautista is able to get it done offensively not only with the long ball but also playing the small game. Pitchers aren't giving him a lot of pitches to hit so he takes his walks and singles because to him it seems its about winning as a team and not hitting as many home runs as possible, even though he still leads the American league with 21. Last night was another good example with a clutch base hit to drive in Corey Patterson and than Adam Lind stepped up and hit ANOTHER home run. Lind has been out of this world since returning to the Jays lineup. He missed 4 weeks with an injury and I would have understood if it took some time to get his timing back as a hitter but he picked up right where he left off when he got injured. He has homered in 5 straight games hitting over .400 in the games hes been back. UNREAL. The Jays look for the sweep today in Cincy.

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The US Open doesn't look like it will come down to the wire today in round 4. Rory Mcilroy shot a 68 yesterday to get to 14 under for the tournament and to take an 8 stroke lead into the final round. The closest competitor is Lee Westwood who sits 6 under and barring a complete meltdown this baby is over. Yes Rory collapsed at the Masters earlier this year but as a professional i doubt its going to happen twice in this short time frame. Even if he doesn't have his best stuff and shoots over par he has put himself in such a great position I'm not sure this is losable.

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The Toronto Argonauts won their pre-season opener, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-12. Chad Kackert scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter to give the Argos a lead they wouldn't relinquish, and had a 15-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Matt Carter scored the Ticats lone TD on an eight-yard pass from Jason Boltus in the fourth quarter.

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The Vancouver Whitecaps won for the first time since their MLS season opener. The Whitecaps ended a 14-game winless streak, as Alain Rochat scored in the 12th minute in a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia. Toronto FC is winless in eight, as Fredy Montero scored on a free kick in the 90th minute in Seattle's 1-0 victory.

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The Riders will hit the practise field today after taking a day off yesterday. The team is coming off a 23-22 win over the Eskimos in pre-season action. Head Coach Greg Marshall says its time to evaluate whether or not they will make any cuts before there next game Wednesday in BC.

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2010-11 ROUGHRIDER AGM ANNOUNCEMENTS

FINANCIAL REPORT

During his financial report, Craig Reynolds, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Chief Financial Officer, revealed the Football Club reported a record-profit of $6.6 million. The club exceeded the $38 million plateau in total gross revenues.

TICKET SALES

The Club saw record revenue from ticket sales during the year as a result of the sell-out of all regular season games. Gate receipts totaled $11.3 million surpassing the prior year’s record by 9%. The Club’s season ticket base continued to grow with an increase of 8% seen in the year.

MERCHANDISE SALES

The Club’s Centennial celebrations and strong playoff run helped drive sales to a new level. The Club exceeded $10.3 million in merchandise revenue during 2010/11 which was an increase of 45% over the prior year’s record sales of $7.1 million.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Under the governance guidelines, the Rider shareholders selected a new Board of Governors at the meeting. Returning to the board this year will be Chairman Roger Brandvold, Vice Chair Rory Picklyk, Director’s Twyla Meredith, Wayne Morsky, Jeff Stusek, and Joel Teal. Shareholders also voted in five directors Doug Emsley (re-elected), Paul Hill (re-elected), Dennis Mulvihill (re-elected), Laurie Powers (re-elected) and Robert Leurer.

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Saskatchewan Roughrider Chairman Roger Brandvold announced today that the organization has created a $650,000 legacy fund to help support amateur football throughout the province. The fund will consist of profits generated from the Roughriders centennial celebrations held throughout 2010.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The 2011 season is here in Saskatchewan. The Riders kicked off the pre season with a match up against the new look Edmonton Eskimos as Mosaic Stadium. The rain battered Regina the entire day until just before kickoff and stayed away until about halfway through the 4th quarter. Both teams had to battle high winds and they played a big factor in special teams and the offense. The riders jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 6 yard Wes Cates run in the first quarter and than after a 3 and out by the Eskis Hugh Charles returned the punt 70 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. An Eddie Johnson kick-off single made it 15-0 at the end of a quarter. Than the Eskimos got a chance with the ball and the wind at their backs in the second and got a touchdown out of Calvin McCarty to draw to within 8 points and than a Damon Duval Field goal late in the half made it 15-10 Riders after 2 quarters of play. The Riders gave up a turnover on the kickoff to begin the second half which led to a missed field goal single point for the Eskimos 15-11 Riders but on the ensuing possession quarterback Cole Bergquist threw up a 50 yard Touchdown pass to the rookie Patrick Brown 22-11 Riders. The Riders had a chance at a field goal after that but rookie Chris Milo missed right and the Eskis conceded the single 23-11. Than the Eskimos were able to respond scoring the first points of the game against the wind on a nice catch by Pierre to make it 22-18. The fourth quarter was a struggle for both offenses until the final minutes the Eskimos marched down to the Rider 6 where the defense got a stop and Schiavoni kicked a 14 yard field goal to make it 23-22. The Riders than got the ball, one first down and than were punting. The Eskimos got the ball with a minute left and on 3rd and 8 picked up 30 yards to set up a 64 yard field goal attempt. The kick was pulled to the right Game Over. 23-22 win for the Riders. I thought both Bergquist and Dinwiddie looked good but Leak struggled in the game. Brandon West was another standout rushing for 30 yards showing off his speed and cutting ability. An exciting game especially for a pre season match up. Next action is Wednesday in Vancouver against the BC lions.

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First baseman Adam Lind homered for the fourth straight game to help the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-2 win at Cincinnati. The Washington Nationals own the longest active winning streak in the majors. Washington allowed a season-high 18 hits, but still won its seventh in a row, 8-4 over Baltimore.

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The Bruins will be parading the Stanley Cup through Boston today. The festivities forced the Boston Red Sox to shift this afternoon's game with the Milwaukee Brewers to an evening affair at Fenway Park. The Red Sox say they'll honour the Bruins before their game.

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Rory McIlroy is threatening to run away with the US Open. McIlroy's 11-under 131 total is the best score after 36 holes in the history of the tournament. He's also the first golfer to get to 13-under at a US Open. McIlroy has a six shot lead over Y-E Yang.

Friday, June 17, 2011

the pre Season officially gets under way today for the Riders as the Eskis come to town. There could be soem rain for game times but that wont curb the excitement around the province that football is finally back. We will see the return of Kerry Joseph tonight, wether he starts tonight im not sure but he will play at some point. We will also see Regina Rams quarterback and Rider great Ron Lancasters grandson Mark Mueller on the field today. The Eskimos are a team that has gone through a complete overhaul this offseason with only 4 starters back and two of them at different positions. Only 2 returning coaches and a new general manager in Eric Tillman. The Riders on the other hand boast a majority of returning players from last year however a new coaching staff. This will be exciting to see what the players do to make a bid to make this team. kickoff is at 7pm listen in on 620 CKRM with Rod Pedersen.

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The Blue Jays bull pencontinues to be a let down. Yesterday after a great start by the rookie Stewart the pen managed to lose the game in the 9th. Jo Jo Reyes heads to the mound today in Cinncinatti for the first of three games versus the Reds and Joey votto. The Jays are going to need better pitching if they expect to get back in the race for the AL East divison or a wild card spot.

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Regina Red Sox fans will be treated to some familiar names at Currie Field for the rest of the 2011 season.
David Fox, Cory Hall and Drew Parker have committed to the Red Sox for the remainder of the year, bolstering an already potent lineup. Judging by their previous appearances in the Queen City, they should fit in nicely. Fox was with the Sox in 2010 and dominated WMBL pitching. The burly right fielder finished the season with a .414 batting average (2nd-WMBL), 5 home runs (6th-WMBL) and 37 RBI (4th-WMBL).The Sox return to action tonight to take on the Miller Express in Moose Jaw starting at 7:00PM.

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Rory Mcilroy is making a bid at redemption after his collapse at the Masters earlier in the year. The Scottish native has broken the record for the best 36 holes to start a US Open at 11 under, previously held by Ricky Barnes 10 under. The rest of the field has some serious catching up to do and barring another collapse Rory could be the winner of his first major championship come Sunday.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup Champions. One team showed up for last nights game and for Canucks fans across the country disappointment is the word. The Bruins didn't even really have to weather an early storm in last night game. The Canucks looked sluggish at best for most of the night. As my Dad would say, they started off slow and tapered off from there. I thought that the first period was fun to watch and that the Canucks played the best in the first 15 minutes but again Tim Thomas had the answer and than Patrice Bergeron scored his first of two goals on the night and after that Vancouver looked deflated. There cant be enough said about Conn Smyth winner Tim Thomas who was unreal last night, not many goalies will get a shutout in game 7 not once but twice in the playoffs including the finals. Brad Marchand made a case for himself to be named Conn Smythe winner as again he was dangerous offensively all night scoring 2 goals including the empty netter. The Bruins deserved to win that game and Canucks fans were left wanting again. Speaking of the fans, what an embarrassment for the city of Vancouver and Canada. I was dumbfounded at the response in the streets. The fans told the rest of Canada to get their own team and now the team is asking for new fans. Edmonton Calgary and Ottawa all lost in the finals in the last decade and took it in stride but for some reason Vancouver cannot take the loss. Though i would say even if the Canucks won the same thing would have happened. Police were disrespected left right and center by a bunch of drunken losers who wanted nothing more than to cause trouble. I will say however that i disagreed with all the news coverage when they were dumbfounded as to why people were just standing and watching what was happening. Its the same reason we were all watching on TV until the early hours of the morning. Its repulsive yet intriguing. I am not a fan of either team in the finals but i know that the fans of Vancouver did not deserve to win a championship. It was good to see Mark Recchi, Tim Thomas and Thomas Kaberle hoist the Cup. 4-0 final and until next year good bye NHL.

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders held a walk through practise today in preparation for tomorrows pre season match up with the Edmonton Eskimos. The Riders have a lot of questions that will be answered tomorrow when it comes to who will make this team. The competition will be fierce. The BC Lions beat the Stamps last night 24-0 last night. I know its just pre season but John Hufnagel himself said that to get beat like that is concerning. I believe that Travis Lulay and the Lions will be the Riders biggest competition in the West this season. Looking forward to half time tomorrow for the maiden voyage of Phil The Thrill on the 620 CKRM Rider broadcast. Game time 7pm.

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The Blue Jays pitching almost let them down last night but Adam Lind hit a walk off homer in the 11th to secure the win but today was a different story. The Jays were tied at 2 heading to the 9th who John Roach came to the mound and proved he is the same pitcher he was last time he came out for the Jays. A walk and three straight hits ensured that the jays would lose to the last place team in the AL east for the second time in 5 games this season. Did i mention he was charged with the loss? We need a new closer and Frank Fransisco is not the guy either. The rubber match of the series goes tomorrow at the Rogers Center.

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The US Open gets underway today without Tiger Woods for the first time since 1994. Phil Mickelson is off to a slow start at 2 over and is 5 behind Y. E. Yang who is already in the clubhouse at 3 under. All i can say is the game of golf needs Tiger Woods.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Stanley Cup Final come down to tonight's game 7 match up between the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks will need a big response following Game 6 and most importantly Roberto Luongo will have to be better. You have to think that Tim Thomas will bring his game tonight and so the Canucks are going to have trouble scoring goals, if Luongo doesn't show up the Bruins are a lock for winning the cup. The first goal will be key in this game, the first goal and home ice advantage has won all previous 6 games in this series so if Boston expects to win they will need a good start to game 7. That will be no small task as the fans in Vancouver will be going crazy and their building will be ready to explode. The key for the Canucks will be to ride that energy and really get on the body early. Mason Raymond wont play in game 7 because of a fractured vertebrae after the hit in game 6 which is a big loss for the Canucks, whether Tambelini or Hodgson comes in is left to be seen but injuries could play a factor tonight. Its too close to call i think we see overtime tonight and Vancouver gets their first cup in franchise history. Kesler with the winner.

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The Roughriders last practise before their opening pre season game goes today. The quarterback situation isn't getting any easier to call as we get closer to game day. Up until Monday i thought that Chris Leak was going to be the odd man out but he has stepped up his game and really made a case for himself to make this team in my opinion. Not only was he making some highlight reel throws but he also made good decisions in practise and wasn't hitting the turf with any of his balls. He seemed to settle in well this week and now the number 2 and 3 quarterback positions are way up in the air. The battle for receiver positions is another tough one to call, obviously there has been a lot of talk about Dressler, Nunn, Getzlaf, Koch and Clermont who I think are guaranteed a spot on this team but after that its hard to call. Ernie Wheelwright has looked good at times and prone to drop at others. Jordan Sisco is a guy who everyone has been excited about since he joined the team last year and if I'm being honest he hasn't been overly impressive thus far. As we talked about on the sportscage yesterday he has looked ordinary simply because of the routes and reps hes been given in the offense. He is a guy whop was a stretch receiver running deep routes for the Rams but I'm not sure if he can play that role in the CFL simply because i haven't seen the speed that it requires. It would be tough to put him in that position especially with all the other guys in camp who have shown they are more than capable. Dominic Bolden has shown bright spots as well as Efrem Hill, Patrick Brown, Jamal Smith, Kolten Solomon, and Obed Cetoute. Aaron Fairooz continues to be sidelined with his hamstring injury. Its a tough one. The Eskimos come to town Friday game starts at 7 PM where we will get to see what theses guys can do.

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The Blue Jays are back in action today in Game 2 of their series with Baltimore. Ricky Romero gets the ball for the Jays against the Orioles' Jake Arrieta. Adam Lind hit a walkoff, 11th-inning homer in last night's 6-5 Toronto win.

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The Regina Red Sox lost just their second game of the season last night versus the Weyburn Beavers at Currie Field. Pitcher Pete Ontiveros was charged with the loss. The Red Sox fall to 8 and 2 on the season, next home game is Fathers Day 2PM against Swift Current.
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Some good news for football fans. It appears the NFL and its players union are making some progress in reaching a new collective bargaining agreement. The two sides met at an undisclosed location in Maryland yesterday with hopeful signs emerging that a deal could be getting closer.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Boston Bruins stormed out of the gate in game 1 scoring the quickest 4 goals in Stanley Cup Final history. Thanks in part to the play of Roberto Luongo who again was less than impressive giving up 3 goals on 8 shots and was replaced by Cory Schnieder early in the game. Luongo is definitely eating his words today after Thomas played a very solid game making some highlight reel saves all night long. The comparison of the two goaltenders continues and the only real argument anyone has for Luongo is that he won a gold medal in Vancouver last year. Not to take away from his play because he did do very well in that tournament, however he was playing with the best team in the whole world. Similarly he is playing for what is arguably the best team in the NHL and when they needed him to step up sometimes he has and sometimes he hasn't. Thomas on the other hand has only allowed 6 goals in the 6 games in this series and is the biggest reason why the Bruins are even in this Final. Again I will say he is the Vesina and Conn Smyth winner without a doubt in my mind. Home ice advantage has been everything in this series but the Bruins have been the better road team, the Canucks will need a bounce back effort tomorrow and I don't expect anything less from the team. This is what all these players live for and Vancouver City will be a gong show to say the least. Boston could become the first team to win three game 7's on the way to the Stanley Cup but I'm wary to say that is going to happen. If there's anything that the Canucks have shown in these playoffs its that they can rebound after playing horrible hockey the day before Luongo included. It will be exciting to watch.

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The Riders hit the field today for day 10 of training camp still preparing for Fridays pre season game versus the visiting Edmonton Eskimos. A lot of questions will be answered come Friday i think when the coaches get to see these guys perform in game action.

The Riders are dealing with some injuries this camp:

DB Byron Bullock (groin) day to day

WR Obed Cetoute (hamstring) day to day

WR Aaron Fairooz (hamstring) day to day

DE Brent Hawkins (upper body) day to day

DB Chris McKenzie (thigh) day to day

Practise runs from 9 -11 today at Mosaic.

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The Ottawa Senators have called a news conference for 11 AM Eastern when it's expected they will announce the hiring of Paul MacLean as the team's next head coach. The former Detroit assistant will replace Cory Clouston, who was fired in April after the Sens missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.

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The Toronto Blue Jays are back in action tonight after a day off following a three-game weekend sweep by the visiting Boston Red Sox. Carlos Villanueva takes his perfect 4-and-oh record to the hill at Rogers Centre against Baltimore's Chris Jakubauskas.

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Derek Jeter's pursuit of 3-thousand hits could be interrupted by a trip to the disabled list. The New York Yankees shortstop suffered a strained right calf and was lifted during the fifth inning of last night's 1-nothing loss to Cleveland. An MRI revealed a Grade-1 strain, the mildest type. The team said it would determine a course of action today, a decision that could possibly mean a stint on the DL.

Monday, June 13, 2011

The Dallas Mavericks are NBA champions. The Heat didn't have what it took last night to force a game 7. Though after the first half Dirk Nowitzki was only 1 for 12 from the floor and somehow the Mans were still in it. Early it looked like Lebron was going to take over scoring 9 quick points in the first 5 minutes but faded as the game went on. Cant say enough about Jason Terry putting up 27 points and stepping up big to get his first title and more importantly he wont have to remove the tattoo from his bicep. Post game I was dumbfounded as to why Dirk left the court without even a little bit of celebration with his teammates, TSN has written it off as emotion and I guess I can accept that. Mitchell Scruffy Blair said it best "Chris Bosh NBA champion is still a falsehood". His tears after the game added to my excitement that the Heat crumbled. Lebron James response to his haters that they wake up with the same problems today that they had yesterday, well that's true but yesterday he woke up still with a chance at a championship and today.....well I think he feels worse than we do. One thing is for sure, the Heat will be back and I don't doubt they will win a championship at some point, but i sure hope they grow up as players and do it with some dignity. Congrats to Kidd, Terry, Nowitzki, and who can forget the best owner in the league Mark Cuban.

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The Stanley Cup Finals continue tonight, Vancouver with a chance to win the cup in Boston and I expect it will be a battle to the very end. I was quite wrong going into game 5 when i thought the Canucks were finished in this series, but as it happens more often than not my predictions fell short. It is now Bostons turn to respond in the face of adversity, possibly even more so because this game could end their season. The Canucks have two chances to win this thing one of which at home if they lose game 6. its a tall order for the Bruins who couldn't put the puck past Luongo in game 5 and looks to be back on his game. The jousting between goaltenders continues in the two days off and I think Luongo has yet to prove he is in the same league as Thomas. Yes Luongo is capable of playing well but has been very up and down all playoffs. Thomas on the other hand is the reason teh Bruins are in the position they are and is in my mind the obvious choice for the Vesina trophy, and the Conn Smyth. In the end Thomas is the better goalie through and through and no it isn't his job to pump Luongos tires. I think Boston takes game 6 to make for a great game 7 finish.

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The Riders took to the field for day 9 of training camp today. Its game week with the first pre season game coming up on Friday when the Eskimos come to town. Mosaic will welcome Kerry Joseph and Mark Mueller to the field. Some talk has been made that Lancasters grandson Mueller could start the game but I guess we will see come Friday. A funny moment on the field today when Darian Durant took to the "mound" and pitched to back catcher Cary Koch with Chris Getzlaf batting all the while Weston Dressler (wearing number 6 today in honor of Rob Bagg) was calling the pitches. With the count at 2 and 2 Durant threw inside heat and got Getzlaf with the strikeout. I know I shouldn't be worried but with Matt O'Donnell going to Boston to try out for the Celtics, i almost didn't write the story for fear that the Majors would be calling for our quarterback. Especially since the Blue jays pitching is less than impressive these days. The play of the day for me was Cary Kochs one handed catch in the endzone for a touchdown from Chris Leak. The team will continue camp tomorrow at 830 am.

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The Blue jays have the day off after getting outscore 35-6 in a three game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox. I continue to wonder if it was a case of Bostons stellar offense exploding or the fact that the Jays are struggling on the mound. I think it may be a bit of both, Drabek "boasts" and ERA north of 15 in his last 3 starts and the frustration showed in yesterdays game. Brandon Morrow and Jo Jo Reyes also felt the wrath of the Sox in that series. There were however two high points for the Jays in the series. Mike McCoy pitching a perfect 1-2-3 9th inning in game 2 of the series and Jose Bautista breaking his 16 game homerless stretch in yesterdays game with a solo shot to center field. Now they will set their sights on the Orioles in a three game set that starts tomorrow.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

No NBA or NHL finals last night and it felt a little odd not having an exciting game to watch, but makes the anticipation for tonight and tomorrow even better. Both the Bruins and the Heat are down 3 games to 2 in their respective series and need a win at home to force a game 7. The Bruins have played very well at home in this series and will look to get on Luongo early come tomorrow night. In the NBA the Mavericks have a chance to win their first championship tonight and silence the cocky, arrogant, insert your preferred word here..... For the most part I didn't like how Chris Bosh carried himself in this series but now Lebron and Wade have added their two cents and I understand they were joking around but it sure came back to bite them as the sick guy scored 29 points and beat them. Much like the Canucks the Heat look really bad and its no wonder people don't like them very much. Dallas has played very well on the road and I think they win it tonight in Miami.

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The Riders are back in Regina today for day 8 of training camp. The guys spent yesterday in Saskatoon signing autographs and practising for fans. Today there will be one regular practise starting at 815 and then special teams after that.

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The Regina Red Sox improved their record to 8 and 1 to start the season last night with a 5-1 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Yellow Jackets. Second Baseman Jason Veyna lad the way for the Sox with 2 hits 2 runs and 2 batted in. Next game is Tuesday in Weyburn.

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Mike McCoy started at second base for the Blue Jays, and wound up pitching a perfect ninth inning for Toronto, in a 16-4 thumping at the hands of Boston. McCoy says it was pretty exciting on the mound, except for the loss. The Red Sox banged out 18 hits, with ten of them off starter Brandon Morrow.

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Junior Dos Santos earned a shot at heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, after he battered and bloodied Shane Carwin to win a dominant decision at UFC 131 in Vancouver. Dos Santos, who is 13 and 1, almost finished Carwin in the first round with a barrage of unanswered blows. Carwin stayed up, and in the third round, the referee called in a doctor to ask if he could still see, before letting the beating continue.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Well i am unimpressed with the Vancouver Canucks even though they were bale to get the win last night. I came into this series without really caring who won because to tell the truth I don't care for either team. However as the series has gone on i have been leaning more and more towards the Bruins, and thats saying a lot being a Leaf fan. The Canucks have been embarrassing as far as I'm concerned, diving and embellishing every play. I hope that it stops in the last couple games of the series but I'm not getting my hopes up. I will however praise Roberto Luongo who bounced back heroically last night getting the shut out and silencing all the critics (including myself) whoo thought he was done in the series. Boston will win at home in game 6 i think which should set up for a great finish in game 7. If only Burrows, and the Sedins weren't such girls on the ice than this would be a great series to watch.

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Got a chance to meet Tyler Bozak at Sticks on Rose yesterday. Small pumped I was. A great event that raised some serious cash.

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The Riders are on the road today heading to Saskatoon for day 7 of training camp. The players will sign autographs starting at 1230 before practise at 130. I am at the point where its time to see these guys play in game situations. Like Rod so aptly put on the Sportscage Friday, its all become quite mundane and repetitive. I think that were not going to really see who will make this team until they get into some real game action and Friday cant come soon enough. I am looking forward to hosting the half time show and doing stats on the broadcast. Brenden Taman says they are working to having training camp moved back to Saskatoon in the future, I'm not sure how i feel about that. I have enjoyed the first training camp but I guess we will see.

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Brandon Morrow takes the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays gunning for his first victory against the Boston Red Sox. Boston counters with John Lackey. The Red Sox beat the Jays 5-1 last night in Toronto for their seventh straight victory, matching their season high.

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The Regina Red Sox will look to improve to 8 and 1 tonight when they host the Saskatoon Yellow jackets at Currie Field. Edmonton Oilers forward and former Regina Pat Jordan Eberle will be the special guest throwing the first pitch tonight. Game starts at 7 o'clock.

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The NBA championship is on hold for another day. The Mavericks head to Miami holding a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series following Thursday night's 112-103 victory over the Heat in Dallas. They'll play Game 6 tomorrow. Game 7, if necessary, will be Tuesday in South Florida.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Looks like the Canucks have lost it. I would be surprised if they win another game in this series. Boston got back to playing physical in your face hockey and Vancouver looks lost on the ice. It doest help that Roberto Luongo cant save a beach ball and coming home the Canucks face a critical juncture, who will start in game 5. In the Chicago series Schnieder got the start after Luongo struggled and then Roberto came back in for game 7 and played very well. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happens on Friday. However in talking with Rod Pedersen today he agrees with one of the analysts on Sportsnet who said that they are paying this guy 10 million a year so you have to play him. I see the point there but I'm not sure that Bobby is the Canucks best chance at a win. Let Schnieder start and gave Luongo the kick in the butt he needs to get back on his game. On the other hand Tim Thomas has been lights out, he has allowed just one goal the last two games on about 80 shots. He also has gotten under the skin of many of the Canucks players including Alex Burrows last night who i lose respect for every game he plays. Chopping the stick out of a goalies hand is of the caliper of Sean Avery, Burrows deserved the slash from Thomas and then he took it a step further to swing at him. I hope these Canucks lose two straight and then re think how they play hockey because they look like a bunch of whinny girls out there. Boston in 6.

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Day 5 of the Roughrider training camp was on this morning. it was a shortened version today but there was no shortage of work put in by the guys. I know we've said this all week but Weston Dressler looks amazing out there. again today making highlight after highlight catches and giving it 110 percent every play. He doesn't take a single snap off. In talking with some people on the sidelines we all agreed that somehow he has gotten faster than last year which seems almost impossible. Aarn Fairooz continues to be sidelined with his hamstring injury. Jordan Sisco looked ok again today but hasn't been a standout at all through 5 days of camp. Special teams continue to be a focus even though coach Craig Dickinson was away from the field today with family matters. I am excited that that part of the game will be better than last year. The defense continues to impress me, they made some good INT's today and the coverage seems to be good. Hard to make a judgement before seeing game action but again i am excited to see what they can do with all the veteran talent they have on that side of the football. An honorable mention to kicker Eddie Johnson who made a one handed catch today, he told me that on a good day he doesn't even need hands, he just uses his helmet. Day 6 of camp is tomorrow at Mosaic before the team heads to Saskatoon on Saturday.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

I'm pretty impressed that the Dallas Mavericks tied the NBA Finals last night with an 86-83 win over the Miami Heat. I would like nothing more than for the Mavs to avenge their Finals loss to the Heat in 06. Dirk Nowitzki is a guy who deserves a championship and as far as I'm concerned the Heat will have no shortage of Finals appearances in the next few years. The veteran presence of Kidd, Terry, and Marion have proved useful and i am hoping they can get a championship, especially Kidd who probably is playing in his last season in the NBA. I have to say being Raptor fan i have lost a lot of respect for CB4, not because of the way he left TO but for the way he carries himself on the floor especially in this series. He is the third string start that i will admit played the best last night but more times than not he scores only 10 points but walks around like he is Gods gift to the Heat. he needs to be brought down a couple notches and realize that no matter how good he plays he will always be third best on that team and so when he acts like king **** he looks like an idiot. I'm taking the Mavs in game 5 and in game 7 on the road for their first championship.

Congratulations is in order for Kevin Cheveldayoff who will be announced today as the new general manager of the NHL team in Winnipeg. Kevin is the brother of provincial cabinet minister Ken here in Saskatchewan. Kevin will have a lot of work to do preparing for the upcoming draft in which they pick seventh on top of figuring out his staff behind the bench and in the office. I'm not sure that Craig Ramsay will be back as head coach but i guess we will see.

The NHL's General Managers meeting goes today and according to Darren Dreger they will be revisiting rule 48 and discussing the issues surrounding head shots in the game. This is not the board of governors meeting where they will vote on the transfer of the Thrashers to Winnipeg, which will be a rubber stamp as far as I'm concerned.

The Canucks will be looking to shake off the game three loss tonight when they play again in Boston for game 4. After losing big I'm not sure if a full recovery is possible and I'm thinking Boston takes this one to tie the series at 2 games a piece. Aaron Rome will be out for the Canucks after his hit on Nathan Horton and with Dan Hamhuis still injured the Canucks can ill afford to lose another defenseman. They played most of game 3 with just 5 defensemen and i think that was a big part of why they lost. For the Bruins Horton is out for the remainder of the series and Tyler Seguin is expected to dress in his absence. The second overall pick was a healthy scratch last game to make room for Shawn Thornton who i thought brought that physical energy that the Bruins needed to get back in this series. Luongo will rebound from giving up 7 goals but Thomas will out duel him tonight. 4-2 Boston final and a tie in the final heading back to Vancouver.

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The Toronto Blue Jays look to make it two straight against the Kansas City Royals. Adam Lind and J-P Arencibia both homered to lead Toronto to an 8-5 victory last night. Carlos Villanueva goes to the mound for Toronto while Kansas City counters with Danny Duffy.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs went last night and from the start of the game you could tell Boston was playing with an edge. Physically they hammered on the Canucks the entire game. The Aaron Rome hit in the first period that has sidelined Nathan Horton for the remainder of the series was in my opinion late, but not deserving of a 4 game suspension. Some onus has to be put on Horton to get his head up and react to Rome stepping up, not to say that it wasn't a late hit because it was but i think if Horton had his wits bout him both players would still be in this series. The Bruins stormed out of the gate in the second period and put 4 past Roberto Luongo, who in his defense played well in the first and then starting in the second the guys in front of him let him down. I expect this game will be a turning point for the Bruins and that they will win game 4 at home but I'm not counting out the Canucks. Last night the Bruins did the complete opposite of games one and two. They were the ones causing turnovers in the neutral zone, they were the ones making good smart plays on defense and making the Canucks play in their own end. A fun game to watch if your a Boston fan, not so much if your a Canucks fan. I think that Luongo will shake this one off and the Canucks definitely aren't going to roll over. I think we will see a game seven in this one.======================================================

Day three at Rider Camp was played in the rain today, it made for some troubles for some recievers today who dropped a few passes but overall they were clicking. For the third consecutive day, quarterback Darian Durant and slotback Weston Dressler provided highlight plays as they connected down field behind coverage for touchdowns on more than one occasion in today’s sessions. Receiver Terrence Nunn continued to impress as he made a diving catch along the sidelines on a pass from Durant. Quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie had a solid day and on more than one play found Effrem Hill who displayed his receiving talents.

==============================================================The Carolina Hurricanes named former captain Rod Brind'Amour and former NHL head coach Dave Lewis to their coaching staff. Lewis would be an assistant coach and work with the club's defence while Brind'Amour will carry the titles of assistant coach and development coach. The club also named Ron Francis its director of hockey operations and added Tom Rowe to the pro scouting staff.==============================================================A Philadelphia 76ers executive confirmed today to The Associated Press there are ongoing discussions about the future of the team. There are reports the Sixers could be sold to a group led by New York-based leveraged buyout specialist Joshua Harris. Later tonight, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks square off in the fourth game of the NBA finals that the Heat leads 2-1.==============================================================The Toronto Blue Jays look to get back on track tonight versus the Kansas City Royals. Toronto has lost four of their last five games against the Royals, including a series-opening 3-2 decision in 11 innings last night. Kyle Drabek goes to the mound for Toronto.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Day 2 of the Roughrider training camp today played in the sun and the guys looked good. I thought that the offense looked really sharp and the defense was flying. Chris Getzlaf probably had the catch of the day on a pass from Ryan Dinwiddie and Dressler continues to look amazing using has speed and hands dazzling all morning long. Terrence Nunn is another guy who hasn't slowed down at all since the beginning of rookie camp last week. I had a chance to talk with Tristan Jackson today and he is quite confident that he can get back to thew playing calliper of 2008 and 2009 seasons where he was one of the premier return men in the league. Injuries caused him some problems last year but he says he had a great off season and that he feels better than ever this year, will be exciting to see if he can step up and possible score the first return touchdown in god knows how long for the Riders. Also i am excited to see what how and where Hugh Charles is used this season. If anyone deserves a chance to show what he can do it is him. In the small amount of time he has played in his 3 years here he has looked like a star.

Defensively there are so many questions as to who will start and how the Canadian to American ratio will work out. All i can say is that the coaching staff will have some serious problems choosing who will make this team. Dario Romero looked great this morning and just as John Lynch said, this defense will be amazing this year. I think that Richie Hall has so much talent to work with that there is really now way he can fail, (not that thought he ever would fail). Talking with Lance Frazier yesterday he said that he could tell Richie was a little nervous in his first training camp back as the defensive coordinator.He also said he was a little scared for their meeting after the practise because the defense let too many balls go over their heads. Needless to say i think that defensively the Riders only problems are good ones.

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Here comes game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final and i think that this game will decide the series. Boston really needs a big night from its entire team if they expect to get back in it. Zdeno Chara will have to play much better than he did in game 3 by limiting penalty minutes and getting back to playing solid defense. Hopefully Julien puts him on the point on their powerplay, or even better the Bruins might want the Canucks to stay out of the box because the powerplay kills any and all momentum they have in the game. Tim Thomas said today that he isn't going to worry about any tips coming from so called experts. In his words he knows how to play goalie and he is going to do just that. I cant argue with that. On the other side of the ice the Canucks are flying high and after outplaying the B's for 5 periods and 11 seconds out of the 6 periods and 11 seconds they have played, they will be tough to topple. If the Canucks can continue the physical play and get pucks at the net all the while drawing penalties they will win this series in as few as 4 games. Luongo has proven that he is ready and willing to come up big in this series, we will see if that continues.